Untruths
by KT-FeatherSage
Summary: "Crowfeather is not your father. You are pure ThunderClan, but your father is dead. Hollyleaf...you killed your father..." The promise was forever. It was her choice, and hers alone. Nothing could ever stop her loving him. (Oneshot AU)


Hollyleaf watched with satisfaction as cats from all Clans hissed and spat at Leafpool, Brambleclaw yelled at Squirrelflight, while Crowfeather stood protectively close to his family. That's right, _his _family, because it was not _her _family. She was a pure ThunderClanner, and refused to ever acknowledge him as her father. To her dismay, some of the growling and snarling was directed at her and her brothers. She saw Lionblaze get up to stand in front of them defensively, his golden fur bristling, and lay her tail on his back as a sign to sit down. He shot a confused glance at her and sat down.

"We're not the code breakers. Let them make a fool out of themselves." she muttered.

"I still don't see why you had to share that secret," Jayfeather whispered, "we could have all lived perfectly well without everyone knowing."

Her holly-green eyes narrowed to furious slits. Why did no one understand? "It was driving me mad! Codebreakers deserve to be punished, and I just took a weight off her back!"

"But was it really necessary?"

Before she could reply once more, Firestar's yowl rang out across the island. Once he had everyone's attention, he closed his eyes and sighed before looking over at his daughter.

"Leafpool, I know you well enough to know your next wish is to step down."

She nodded sadly

"But before I have to demote you, do you have anything that supports that I should let you remain a medicine cat?"

To Hollyleaf's surprise, she nodded once again and stood up. She let out a low hiss.

_What could this traitor have left to say?_

A deathly silence had fallen over the Gathering.

"This may not stand in my defense, but I feel it important to share." Leafpool began, "Lionblaze, Jayfeather...Hollyleaf. I understand you may not every want to speak with me ever again, and I'm sorry that I never shared this with you. I'm sorry for every untruth told about you. Yes, I am your mother. But I want you to know one thing. Crowfeather is not your father. You are pure ThunderClan, but your father is dead. Hollyleaf, I can read your confusion. Hollyleaf..." she broke off with a sigh, "You killed your father."

* * *

Leafpaw attempted to tackle Squirrelpaw to the ground like she always showed her when she came back from training, but her sister moved out the way easily, and the light brown tabby was left in a pile in the dust. The bright ginger she-cat laughed.

"You'll have to move quicker than that to catch me!" she giggled, running away. Leafpaw gave chase, desperately trying to pin down her sister. She agile and swift for a medicine cat, but Squirrelpaw always managed to deflect her blows whenever she got her. After a while, she lay panting, worn out. A shape moved at the edge of her vision, and she looked up to see Ashfur.

"Having trouble there?" he asked, smiling.

She nodded.

"Here's a tip, Squirrelpaw's expecting you to chase and pounce like you are and she can easily move away. But if you do something she's not anticipating, she's got nothing. Try cutting around and tripping her."

Leafpaw nodded. "Thanks!"

* * *

Leafpool's claws scraped the edge of the cliff madly, but she already knew her fate. There was no fight left in her, she couldn't get up the wall further. She sighed, preparing to sheathe her claws and think of all the good memories. Then-

She felt teeth dig into her scruff and she was hauled over the edge. She looked up into dark blue eyes and saw a mottle pale grey tom.

"A-Ashfur! Oh StarClan I thought I was crow-food! Thanks you." she panted, relieved.

Ashfur looked down at her and smiled. "Not a problem. What would ThunderClan do without you?"

"What would ThunderClan do without _you_?" she laughed, "I can see my sister has a good taste in toms. I never really thought she would become closer to Brambleclaw, I'm glad she's got you now."

He looked self-conscious. "I-er...thanks Leafpool. I'll always try to keep Squirrelflight happy. Now I've got to go, stay safe!"

"Thank you!"

She watched him skirt the outer edge of the cliff and run down into camp to face ShadowClan again, but quickly turned around again as she heard panting and a dark grey tom broke through the bushes.

"Crowfeather!" she exclaimed, her heart twisting slightly. The tom looked so panicked, someone he really did care about must've been in trouble. He always did look so lonely, but that meant he must care about someone a lot deep down.

"Leafpool! Are you okay? I saw you falling." he looked concerned.

The light brown tabby shook out her fur. "Oh, yes thanks. But why did you come up here to save me? I thought you hated me..."

He tilted his head. "Hated you? No, Leafpool...I-I...I love you Leafpool..."

Leafpool's head snapped upwards and she met his blue eyes. "B-but Crowfeather...we can't be together..."

"Does that stop you from loving me?"

Her eyes fell to the ground once again. "I-I-"

She was cut off as Brightheart burst through the bushes. "Come on! We've got a fight to win!" she called, bounding around to join the fight.

He brushed past her. "Meet me by the border in two days time."

* * *

Crowfeather waited and waited and waited.

But his love never came

* * *

Ashfur was moved to the Medicine Den with a serious injury on his belly. He was unconscious after the battle, and blood oozed steadily from the wound. After refusing to meet Crowfeather, her heart was broken in two, and she didn't know how to mend it. Of course she loved him, but she realised she loved something more, but she couldn't tell what. Her Clan? Her duty? Her family?

It must've been her family, but if Ashfur wasn't in it, why was she so panicked about him?

Maybe it was because of their relationship, that she wanted her sister to be happy and she knew Ashfur was an amazing person. But why did she feel jealousy as she watched her sit over him, head down, waiting for him to heal and come back to his normal state. She watched Squirrelflight lean down and gently lick his cheek.

"Ashfur...please don't leave me...I love you..." she whispered, though Leafpool heard.

She watched her sister's eyes light up as Ashfur's opened revealing their deep shade. "I don't intend on going anywhere. I love you too, and I know I've got to always be there for you."

* * *

"Don't break his heart," she told her, "he's a good cat and he loves you dearly. Promise me you'll never break his heart."

* * *

Cinderpelt was out collecting herbs and Squirrelflight hunting when Ashfur broke into the spasm, silently shrieking in pain. Leafpool was up in less than a heartbeat.

"Ashfur! What's wrong?" she cried, fear, worry and panic crashing into her.

He couldn't respond as he coughed blood, and the light tabby medicine cat looked down to see his belly wound reopened and him losing blood fast. She dashed over to her herbs and pulled out cobwebs, marigold, goldenrod, everything she needed. Ashfur _needed_ to live.

"It's going to be okay, it's going to be okay..." she muttered repeatedly, setting to work fast. Ashfur remained as still as he could in pain, watching with admiration and gratefulness as she quickly patched up the wound once more, determination lighting her hard gaze.

As she finally finished, Ashfur touched his nose to her leg. "Th-thank you, Leafpool. I never doubted you for a second..." he murmured, falling back into sleep.

* * *

The badgers came and went, leaving with scars and fear.

ThunderClan fought, losing Cinderpelt and Sootfur.

Leafpool was left alone in the Medicine Den. She watched Squirrelflight touch her nose to Brambleclaw's and felt an anger rise up inside her.

_She promised me! She promised me she'd always stay by Ashfur's side!_

Almost blind with surprising rage, she ran out of the camp, finding herself tearing through thorns and brambles to find a place where she could relax. Where she could vent and calm down.

Instead she almost crashed into Ashfur, who was sobbing quietly by a stream. He looked up when he saw her.

"I-I'm sorry Leafpool...I couldn't make her happy enough..."

Her heart filled with pity and she lay down beside him. "It's not your fault. I made her promise to never break your heart. She broke both."

He was silent. Then- "Could I have done more to make her love me?"

"No. You gave her everything you could and she threw it away. She's the one missing out."

They were silent for a few more heartbeats as they watched the stream flow.

"It's still going to hurt me." he sighed softly.

She looked at him with sadness. "I healed your wound when ShadowClan attacked, but I'm afraid this is a wound no medicine cat can heal."

"There is one medicine cat though..."

She looked at him in confusion.

"She's kind, pretty, forgiving and she is the light of my life. It's early for me to be moving on, but throughout my entire relationship with Squirrelflight I realised there was one cat I loved more. A medicine cat, and I'm sorry, but I do."

"And who is that?" Leafpool asked, twitching her ear.

"You, of course."

At first surprised overwhelmed her, but then she smiled. She knew what she loved more now.

"So Leafpool, will you be my mate?"

"Of course."

* * *

Every few nights they would sneak out of camp together to be with each other, to laugh, to play, to talk. Leafpool had never felt more alive, and she saw the light in Ashfur's eyes, like the stars on the lake. Deep blue, with shining lights. No one ever found out.

* * *

Then came the day when she realised she was expecting his kits. Leafpool panicked. She couldn't tell anybody. She requested that she go out to collect a faraway herb with Squirrelflight, and on the journey she had them while no one was there. She returned to Squirrelflight and told her that she had found them as loners, and that she must tell everyone they were hers and Brambleclaw's, even her mate and them themselves. She agreed.

* * *

Leafpool continued to love Ashfur. She told him that those kits were there's, and that no matter what he must never tell anyone. He swore by the stars, by his life, by his love.

* * *

Jaypaw became a Medicine Cat

Lionpaw and Hollypaw became warriors

Ashfur was made to mentor his own son. He tried to never show his love to them, and so he tried to act like he didn't care for Lionpaw as a mentor. That was why he pushed him over his limits. When they fought that one time, his eyes blazed with pride, not fury. Pride that his son was strong. He almost suffocated with pride as he tried to hide it at their warrior ceremonies.

* * *

One day he saw Squirrelflight get mad at her -_his_\- kits. She shouted at them for being suspicious, that she was their mother and that was that. Ashfur watched, rage boiling up inside him. He didn't tell his mate, she didn't deserve to have this added to her stress, but that night when they were together he said nothing would ever stop him from loving her, not even death.

* * *

Two days later he asked Squirrelflight to meet him in the forest and he snarled at her.

"I've seen the way you treat your kits! How dare you, take another mate and then mistreat your kits? Would this have happened if I were the father? Is this what Brambleclaw's told you? You broke a promise, then you treat your kits like they're playthings. I'll never forgive you for this Squirrelflight, I may have moved on from you, but that doesn't mean I watch your kits with envy. That they get to be yours but not mine. You should think more carefully next time, you lucky, ungrateful fox-heart..."

He turned around and left, not noticing the wide, holly-green eyes watching.

* * *

Hollyleaf was enraged. How _dare _Ashfur speak to her mother that way? She was the best carer in the world, and she had never seen Ashfur treat them with more than a disgusted face! She knew that night that revenge was needed, and that was how she found herself stood above him as his blood trickled into the stream.

It was also that night that Jayfeather told her Squirrelflight wasn't her mother.

* * *

Hollyleaf tore up the slope until she stood by the Moonpool, breathing hard, anger narrowing her eyes and her claws out. Everything, _everything_, was all a lie. She hurriedly lapped up the water and lay done, sleep taking her. She woke up to see herself stood in front of three cats, a blue-grey she-cat, a broad-shouldered golden tom and a white tom.

"Welcome Hollyleaf." the she-cat began, but before she could speak again, the black she-cat interrupted her.

"I've got no time for this fox dung! I need to know, right now, no riddles, _who is my mother?"_

The StarClan cats exchanged a glance and the she-cat sighed.

"I see no reason to not let the truth spill. Be careful of what you do now Hollyleaf."  
They disappeared, and Hollyleaf was left staring down at the pool in front of her. It was alike the Moonpool, but it shone with even more stars than she'd ever thought possible. Suddenly it rippled, and they vanished, and instead of her reflection she found herself staring down at a light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes and a white chest and paws. She narrowed her eyes in fury.

_Leafpool_

* * *

It was by accident that she overhead Brightheart telling her brothers about that time by the ShadowClan fight. She said she saw longing and love in Crowfeather's eyes when he looked at Leafpool, and Hollyleaf connected the dots that he loved her. She didn't stay to listen and instead assumed that Crowfeather was her father.

* * *

Leafpool cried herself to sleep in the forest the night of Ashfur's death. She blamed it entirely on herself.

But she remembered his words.

_I will always love you, Leafpool, and nothing will ever stop me, not even death_

She looked up at the stars.

"I hope you still love me now, Ashfur, because I do, and I always will."

* * *

Leafpool fled from the Gathering the second the words were out of her mouth. She knew what she had to do next. She knew that demotion wouldn't stop her from loving Ashfur, and that it would only become legal, and so she knew what to do next. She knew that she couldn't live without Ashfur, so why should she?

She went over all her best memories of him, of the Clan, of her kits. _Their _kits.

She found herself at the top of the hollow above her camp.

She remembered how Ashfur had saved her

Well Ashfur was saving her again

She would never leave him

She jumped


End file.
